Tools

Lean 4 Sales uses tools and techniques from different frameworks to improve your sales processes, and I apologise in advance for the acronyms!

Sales Process Engineering

The term was probably first coined by Paul Selden, and was based on his experience in both the quality movement and the sales automation discipline.

Lean

Lean Manufacturing evolved from the Toyota Production system – in essence it is a framework which is aimed at adding value to a system, but is probably better known for reducing waste from a process.

Six Sigma

Six Sigma was designed by Motorola to help manage the quality problems in their supply chain. It came to prominence when GE took the system to another level. Six Sigma holds that reducing variation in a process will improve the system. Sales and Marketing teams frequently worry that this approach will kill their creativity. At Lean 4 Sales, we have found the opposite is true, it actually frees up time for the creatives to work their magic, yet enables rigorous management of the sales process. The standard toolset we use is DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control.

Theory of Constraints

TOC is a management philosophy introduced by Eliyahu Goldratt which holds that any system is only controlled by a limited number of constraints. At Lean 4 Sales, we use it to identify specific areas of concern within the sales process, and prioritise actions.

TRIZ

Originally developed by Genrich Altshuller, TRIZ (teoriya resheniya izobretatelskikh zadatch) translates into English as the theory of inventive problem solving. It holds that the majority of technical problems have already been overcome in other fields or industries. TRIZ is a brilliant toolset, and we always recommend the “9 Box” tool as a way of regularly interrogating a sales process.